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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. key — in music
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. scale — in music
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chip — for betting
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. mine — for digging
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. pound — a weight
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com